Assembly of bending machine and support bench

ABSTRACT

An assembly of a machine for bending an elongated piece (T) and relevant support bench is described. The elongated piece (T) is supported by a spindle (3) that comprises a sleeve member (4) suitable to be connected to the elongated piece (T) to be bent, and a spindle frame (5) which rotatably supports the sleeve member (4). The spindle frame (5) is mounted on a platform (6) provided at its bottom with at least a spherical support (7) so that the spindle (3) is able to slide freely on a support bench (2), while the elongated piece (T) is bent.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an assembly of bending machine and support bench. As will be seen below, the bending machine can be of a constant or variable radius type.

PRIOR ART

EP0783927A1 discloses a bending machine comprising a bending unit and a support arm with a spindle for a pipe to be bent. The support arm is oscillating on the bending unit to follow the oscillation of the pipe, in particular in a starting step of bending. The support arm is sustained by two small arms pivoted together consecutively and resting on the ground. At its other end, a small arm is fixed to the bending unit, and the other small arm is pivoted in its free end to the support arm. The spindle is mounted slidable on the support arm by means of a linear guide.

The structure described above is rather complex, because both the support arm and the two small arms which sustain it are connected to the bending unit, the first one in an oscillating manner, the second one in a partially rigid manner. Furthermore, the spindle oscillates together with the support arm, on which it is mounted. The support arm oscillates by the pipe during the bending.

The Applicant has noted that the structure of the above-mentioned pipe bending machine creates unnecessary constraints due to the presence of mutually cooperating parts that could be avoided. Furthermore, the elimination of these parts can improve the stability and overall functionality of the machine.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks.

The main object of the present invention is to structurally separate the bending unit from the pipe support arm in order to avoid mutual constraints.

Another object of the invention is to reduce the number of component parts and make the structure of the bending machine easier.

Still another object of the invention is to follow the changes in position of the pipe during its bending.

A further object of the invention is to check the rotation of the pipe cross section while the pipe is bent.

An additional object of the invention is to create a stable support for the pipe while being bent.

In order to achieve the aforementioned objects, the present invention, as defined in claim 1 attached to the present description, provides an assembly of a machine for bending an elongated piece and relevant support bench, the elongated piece being supported by a spindle that comprises a sleeve member suitable to be connected to the elongated piece to be bent, and a spindle frame which rotatably supports the sleeve member and is mounted on a platform provided at its bottom with at least a spherical support so that the spindle is able to slide freely on a support bench, while the elongated piece is bent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Further features and advantages of the invention will become most clear from the description of embodiments of the assembly of a machine for bending an elongated piece and relevant support bench, illustrated by way of an indicative and non-limiting example in the attached drawings in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are top plan views of the assembly of a fixed radius bending machine and a support bench for elongated piece to be bent according to the invention, in a step preceding the bending and in a start step of bending, respectively;

FIGS. 3 to 7 are a top plan view, a rear view, a side view, a perspective view and, respectively, an exploded perspective view of a spindle used in the assembly in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a part of the spindle shown in

FIG. 7;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are an exploded perspective view and a side view of the support bench in FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a rotatable support applied to the bending machine in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 12 is a side view of a variant of the rotatable support in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the rotatable support in FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the rotatable support in FIG. 13, with pipe roller stand in a raised position; and

FIGS. 15 and 16 are top plan views of the assembly of a variable radius bending machine and a support bench for an elongated piece to be bent according to the invention, in a step preceding the bending and in a start step of the bending, respectively.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

First of all, reference is made to FIGS. 1 and 2 which are top plan view, in a step preceding the bending and in a start step of bending, respectively, of an assembly of a fixed radius bending machine 1 and a support bench 2 for an elongated piece T to be bent according to a first embodiment of the invention. The elongated piece T to be bent is supported on the support bench 2 by means of a spindle 3. The spindle 3 is provided with at least one spherical support, shown below, so as to slide on the support bench 2, while the elongated piece T is bent. The bending machine 1 and the support bench 2 rest firmly on the ground. The bending machine 1 can be rigidly connected to the support bench 2, if necessary.

Reference is therefore made to FIGS. 3 to 7 which are a top plan view, a rear view, a side view, a perspective view and an exploded view of the spindle 3, respectively. The spindle 3 comprises a sleeve member 4 adapted to be connected to the elongated piece T to be bent, and a spindle frame 5 which rotatably supports the sleeve member 4. The spindle frame 5 is mounted on a platform 6 provided at the bottom with a plurality of spherical supports generally indicated as 7. Each spherical support 7 can be made with a movable sphere inside its housing, or with a pivoting wheel or the like.

With particular reference to FIG. 7, it is noted that the sleeve member 4 comprises a tube 8 provided with a central abutment rib 9 and end bushings 10.

The spindle frame 5 comprises a front vertical wall 11 a and a rear vertical wall 11 b fastened with screws generally indicated as 22 on an upper plate 12 and a lower plate 13. The tube 8 is retained within the spindle frame 5 by means of Seeger rings 14. The lower plate 13 has a recess 15. The tube 8 is thus rotatably mounted in the spindle frame 5.

Provided inside the tube 8 can be jaws 16 for an elongated square piece (not shown), the jaws being adjusted with an adjustment screw 17. The recess 15 in the lower plate 13 allows the adjusting screw 17 to rotate during the bending of the elongated piece. The shape of the jaws could be different from the one shown in order to bend elongated pieces with a circular cross-section, which is smaller than that of the tube 8, or a polygonal cross section, which is different from the square one.

The sleeve member 4 is rigidly connected to a goniometric disc 18. A pointer 19, which indicates the angle of rotation of the cross section of the elongated piece T about its axis before the bending, faces the goniometric disc 18.

Reference is made also to FIG. 8 which is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a portion of the spindle shown in FIG. 7.

The pointer 19 could be fixed, that is rigidly connected to the spindle frame 5. Advantageously, the pointer 19 is shown to be integral with a ring 20 acting as a pendulum: in fact, the ring 20 is mounted on bearings 40 to the tube 8. Provided on the bearings 40, which may be of a roller type as shown or of another available type, are a spacer 41, a ring Seeger 140 and a bearing cover 42. The goniometric disc 18 is fixed to the elongated piece T to be bent. In this way, the tube 8, the elongated piece T and the goniometric disc 18 are integral and rotate together as a group. The pointer 19, on the other hand, is free to oscillate, but under the effect of a counterweight 21 joined with screws to the ring 20, is always kept in a vertical position and allows to read the relative rotation angle of the group formed by tube 8, elongated piece T and goniometric disc 18. The goniometric disc 18 is connected to the tube 8 by means of screws 220 (FIG. 7).

As an alternative to the pointer 19, which makes possible to visually determine the rotation of the elongated piece, an encoder with the same function can be provided, not shown in the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the platform 6 sustains encoders generally indicated as 23. Encoders 23, which may be more than two, serve to control the position of the spindle on the support bench 2 during a pipe bending. Their operation is known and will not be further explained.

Reference is made also to FIGS. 9 and 10 that are an exploded perspective view and a side view, respectively, of the support bench in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The support bench 2 has a supporting plane 24 of the spindle shown constructively in the form of a rectangular trapezium delimited by edges 25. The edges 25 have the task of preventing the spindle from falling from the support plane 24. The support plane 24 rests on at least three feet indicated generically as 26.

Moreover, suitably, the bending machine 1 comprises, for the elongated piece T to be bent, a rotatable support 27, shown in a perspective view in FIG. 11. By way of example, the rotatable support 27 comprises a roller 28 rotatably mounted on two end supports, generally indicated as 29. The two end supports 29 are sustained by a C-shaped support element 30, in particular by the core 31 of the C shape. The C-shaped support element 30 has wings 32 provided with slots 33. A pi-shaped bracket 35, fixed to the bending machine 1, has ends 34 inserted in the slots 33 of the C-shaped support element 30 for sustaining the roller 28 in a height adjustable manner. This arrangement allows the support element 30 to be lowered, so that a cantilevered extension (not shown) of the tube 8 can pass. It should be evident that the roller 28 could be supported with a different arrangement of pieces.

With reference to FIGS. 12, 13 and 14 a variant of the rotatable support in FIG. 11 is shown in a side view, in a perspective view with a lowered roller stand and with a roller stand in a raised position, respectively. In this figures, identical or similar numerals indicate parts that are the same or similar to those in FIG. 11.

The rotatable support 270 comprises the roller stand formed, for example, by three rollers 28 rotatably mounted on the upper side of two end frames, generally indicated as 300. The two end frames 300 are provided with slots 301 crossed by respective pins 302 integral to a pi-shaped bracket 350, which can be applied by means of bolts 303 to the bending machine as the corresponding bracket 35 of the rotatable support 27 described above. Each pin 302 is provided with a locking handle 304 to adjust to the desired height the end frames 300 and therefore the three rollers 28 in order to allow the three rollers 28 to disappear or be lowered.

Reference should now be made to FIGS. 15 and 16 which are top plan views of the assembly of a variable radius bending machine and a support bench for an elongated piece to be bent according to the invention, in a step preceding the bending and in a start step of bending, respectively. Indicated as 36 is the variable radius bending machine as a whole and as 37 a spindle resting on a support bench indicated as 200, shown only partially. The spindle 37 is not described in detail because it is similar to the spindle 3 already described. The difference between the two spindles is in that a platform 38 of the spindle 37 is wider than the platform 6 in the first embodiment. Mounted on the platform 38 are supports generally indicated as 39 which could be spheres or castor wheels. From FIGS. 15 and 16 it can be seen that, thanks to the presence of the three rollers of the variable radius bending machine 36, it may be unnecessary to provide on it a rotatable support similar to that indicated as 27 in the first embodiment.

It should be understood that the assembly according to the present invention is particularly advantageous in positioning an elongated piece in a multipass bending on variable radius bending machines of several constructive forms.

By way of example, in tilting-type variable radius bending machines, the elongated piece is normally retained by a spindle on a fixed linear guide: such an arrangement however only allows a single bending pass. The positioning of the elongated piece by means of the assembly according to the present invention allows multipassing on all variable radius bending machines, including both pyramidal and tilting machines. 

1. An assembly of a machine for bending an elongated piece and relevant support bench, the elongated piece (T) being supported by a spindle (3; 37), characterized in that the spindle (3; 37) comprises a sleeve member (4) suitable to be connected to the elongated piece (T) to be bent, and a spindle frame (5) which rotatably supports the sleeve member (4) and is mounted on a platform (6; 38) provided at its bottom with at least a spherical support (7; 39) so that the spindle (3; 37) is able to slide freely on a support bench (2; 200), while the elongated piece (T) is bent.
 2. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the sleeve member (4) is rigidly connected to a goniometric disc (18), and a pointer (19) that indicates the angle of rotation of the cross section of the elongated piece (T) around its axis before being bent, faces the goniometric disc (18).
 3. The assembly according to claim 2, wherein the pointer (19) is mounted freely oscillating on the spindle frame (5) by means of a ring (20) to which a counterweight (21) is fixed.
 4. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein each spherical support (7; 39) is made by means of a sphere and a relative housing that is connected to the platform (6; 38).
 5. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein each spherical support (7; 39) is made by means of a pivoting wheel that is connected to the platform (6; 38).
 6. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the sleeve member (4) internally includes integrally a pair of jaws for clamping a circular cross-section elongated piece (T) to be bent.
 7. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the sleeve member (4) internally includes integrally a pair of jaws (16) for clamping a not circular cross-section elongated piece (T) to be bent.
 8. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said platform (6; 38) supports a plurality of encoders (23).
 9. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the machine for bending the elongated piece (T) is a fixed radius bending machine (1).
 10. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the machine for bending the elongated piece (T) is a variable radius bending machine (36).
 11. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the fixed radius bending machine (1) comprises a rotatable support (27) for the elongated piece (T) to be bent, the rotatable support (27) including: a roller (28) mounted rotatably on two end supports (29); a C-shaped support element (30), having a core (31) for supporting the two end supports (29), and wings (32) provided with slots (33); and a pi-shaped bracket (35) for adjustably supporting the height of the roller (28) along the slots (33) of the wings (32) of the C-shaped support element (30).
 12. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the fixed radius bending machine (1) comprises a rotatable support (270) for the elongated piece (T) to be bent, the rotatable support (270) including: a plurality of rollers (28) mounted rotatable on the upper side of two end frames (300) provided with slots (301), and pins (302) passing through said slots (301) and being integral with a pi-shaped bracket (350), each pin (302) being provided with a locking handle (304) to adjust the height of the plurality of rollers (28). 